- There have been a number of ‘swap deals’ in the transfer window this summer
- Now, the Premier League will maintain a close eye on the deals that are done
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The Premier League will monitor every transfer this summer to ensure clubs are not circumventing rules after a spate of unusual transactions.
Several ‘swap deals’ have occurred between top-flight clubs in the last weeks, including academy products being traded in separate transactions which are designed to aid both parties’ balance sheets.
As an example, midfielder Tim Iroegbunam signed for Everton from Aston Villa on Saturday for around £9million, while winger Lewis Dobbin has completed a move the other way in a separate deal believed to be worth £10m.
Chelsea are closing in on signing Villa academy star Omari Kellyman for £19m. And the Champions League finalist when on loan at Borussia Dortmund, Ian Maatsen, is going the other way in a separate transaction for around £35m.
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin was subject to interest from Newcastle, while the impressive Toon youngster Yankuba Minteh had been mooted to go the other way. Like the aforementioned moves, it would have not been a swap deal but two different transfers.
This helps both club’s efforts to steer clear of the top flight’s profit and sustainability rules – Everton have twice been deducted points for breaching and the other three are understood to be sailing close to the wind.
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Why is this beneficial? If Club A signs a player for, say, £10m and sells another player for £10m, the money they pay can be amortised over the length of the contract, while the amount received can be immediately put on to the balance sheet.
In the case of academy players, this can be inputted as pure profit. With less than a week until the accounting end date for financial fair play calculations of June 30 – which some are calling a ‘deadline day lite’ – these deals can help clubs steer clear of future financial worries.
But Mail Sport has learned that the Premier League have the right to review all of these transfers to check they are made in good faith. If clubs are found to be purposefully circumventing the rules, they could be at risk of breaching guidelines.
Any transfer can be reviewed as a threshold transaction to check it is being done on an arm’s length basis. If not, the Premier League can look into whether it was done at fair market value which, in effect, is checking whether clubs have purposefully colluded to inflate fees.
It is worth noting that the deals done so far have not breached any written rules – the clubs are merely cleverly getting around a loophole – but sources close to the Premier League have been keen to stress it would not be good faith to purposely circumvent rules.
Several Premier League clubs are said to be growing increasingly tired of the current financial rules, which many accuse of being outdated and point to the fact that the fact teams are being forced to sell their best young players to comply is a sign the guidelines need to be changed.”